Mo. Senate Panel Advances House's Gun Bill

JEFFERSON CITY - A Missouri Senate committee has endorsed a House bill allowing designated school personnel to carry concealed weapons in school buildings.

The legislation advanced by the committee Wednesday also allows firearms less than 16 inches long to be openly carried by concealed weapons permit holders throughout the state.

The bill has other provisions, including a declaration that federal gun laws are unenforceable in Missouri and that anyone who publishes information about gun owners could be charged with a misdemeanor.

But the committee removed a House-passed provision to increase the prison sentences of convicted felons who use a firearm in another crime.